Inside The Bills

He had an informal meeting with Bills officials at the NFL Combine. So there’s a possibility that Akron, N.Y. native J.C. Tretter might be on the team’s radar screen for the draft in two months.

Tretter confirmed that he met with Bills team officials in an informal setting at the Crowne Plaza Union Station Hotel in downtown Indianapolis this week. The 6-4, 307 pound Cornell product is expected to come into the NFL as an interior offensive lineman, after playing tackle for the Big Red the last few years.

Tretter was at the Senior Bowl in Mobile last month, but he was unable to practice or play because he broke his nose a few days before the workouts began. He admits that was a setback, especially for a small college prospect like himself.

“It’s not just showing what you can do,” Tretter said, “but when you love playing football, there’s only so many games you’re going to be able to play in your life, so you don’t want to miss one. Not missing a game in college, not missing a game in high school—to miss that one, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But you gotta kinda let it go and not dwell on it, because that’s going to affect your future performances. You gotta forget about it, do what you can, and get out here to the combine and impress here.”

Tretter had a good showing at the combine, and he may have done enough to boost his stock above the 4th or 5th round, where most experts have him pegged.

Akron, N.Y. native J.C. Tretter wrapped up his work at the NFL Combine Saturday. And the Cornell product has to be happy with his overall performance.
Tretter did well in virtually all of the on field workouts in Indianapolis. He was 14th among offensive linemen in the 40-yard dash, with a time of 5.09. He was 12th in the bench press, with 29 reps. He was 8th in the vertical jump, and 8th in the three-cone drill.
Tretter told us Friday afternoon that it was important for him to show well at the combine, to dispel the notion that a small college, Ivy League product could not compete in the NFL.
“A lot of people expect you to not be the same quality, strength wise-speed wise,” Tretter said. “I’m extremely confident in my abilities. I was talking to the guys at the bench press and no one really knows about the kid from Cornell. They were kinda, ‘Is this kid going to be able to bench at all? What is he going to be able to do?’ You kinda go through those stereotypes.”
Tretter says he’s heard buzz about his possible weaknesses, including questions about his overall strength level. That’s why his strong showing in the bench press was so important.
“You’d love to hit the thirty mark,” he said. “You always think you can do more. But 29, it is what it is, and that’s your number. I’m happy with that, it wasn’t a disappointment.”
“What’s out there is there’s a worry about strength. But with the 29 (reps) definitely helps to shoo that away.”
Tretter says he met informally with Bills personnel here at the combine this week.

He got the invite, but Cornell offensive lineman J.C. Tretter has been unavilable to practice this week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile.

The Akron, NY native has been here all week, but he’s walking around with big brace and bandage on his nose. Tretter broke the nose last Friday, just hours before he was scheduled to fly to Mobile for the week’s worth of practices.

“Down at IMG where I’m training, we were doing some one on one pass-pro last Friday, non padded,” Tretter told The John Murphy Show.

“I had the kid locked out, he tried to spin. He slipped, and the back of his head caught my nose, and the head’s a little denser than the nose is, so he shifted it over. I had to get rushed to the emergency room and get it shifted back. I’m not able to participate this week, which is very unfortunate.”

Tretter has spent the week in Mobile meeting with different NFL coaching staffs in the night time interviews. But he knows he missed a major opportunity this week, a chance to convince NFL scouts and coaches that the Ivy Leaguer can compete at the top level.

“It was definitely a huge disappointment,” Tretter said. “This is both an honor and an opportunity, the Senior Bowl. It’s an honor because you’re getting recognized as one of the top players in the nation, but it’s an opportunity because when you’re from a small school, you get a chance to play against the big schools and the big time prospects. This was a huge disappointment for me not to be able to go out and show all the scouts what I’m capable of.”

Tretter will get his chance. He’s cleared to resume working out next Monday, and he’s just about a month away from attending the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

The 6-2, 302 lb offensive lineman is a legitimate NFL prospect. And he was a standout in football and basketball during his high school days in Akron, NY. He remains Akron High School’s all time leader in points and rebounds.

A few more clouds in the sky for the South team practice at the Senior Bowl in Mobile Wednesday afternoon. Not only do the players have to perform for NFL scouts and coaches but the NFL Network is here for complete live coverage of the workouts (picture below).
With the Bills interest in linebackers, we”ll be keeping an eye on the LB talent including a couple that Bills GM Buddy Nix singled out for praise this week: Nico Johnson of Alabama and Vince Williams of FSU. Another LB, Jake Johnson of South Alabama had to be carted off the field after injuring his lower right leg early in today’s practice.
Speaking of injuries, still no sign of Akron,NY native J.C. Tretter on the field yet. He broke his nose a couple of weeks ago and has been held out of practice. We’ll get the story straight from him when he joins us on The John Murphy Show live from the Senior Bowl tonight.